Company
Date Published
Author
Cooper Reid
Word count
1524
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

WYSIWYG editors, which stand for "what you see is what you get," offer non-technical users the ability to design and modify web pages without coding, making them popular for quick and user-friendly experimentation. While these tools promise ease of use and faster deployment of web experiments, they come with limitations that can hamper comprehensive testing and require technical intervention, especially when dealing with complex backend integrations or sophisticated web frameworks. The tools are mainly suited for simple visual changes like button or color alterations, and they can introduce issues such as cumulative layout shift (CLS) and other race conditions due to their reliance on client-side JavaScript. Despite their touted benefits, the lack of robust integration capabilities with server-side applications, data warehouses, and advanced analytical tools can result in governance blindspots and suboptimal ROI, often necessitating developer involvement to resolve unexpected challenges and maintain site performance.